COMPANYHISTORIES
SIC

Wood Products, Not Elsewhere Classified

How the companies in this industry began, and the forces that shaped them.

66companies1847–1998founding years65still active1no longer operating
§ 01

The industry over time

Companies foundedEconomyTechnologyEnvironmentHistory
FoundedBoatmen's Bancshares Inc.
1847
FoundedJacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company
1867
FoundedSonoco Products Company
1899
1903
TechnologyThe Wright brothers achieve powered flight.
FoundedHartmarx Corporation
1911
1914
EconomyWorld War I begins; global trade reorders.
FoundedLutheran Brotherhood
1917
FoundedWeis Markets, Inc.
1924
FoundedValue Line, Inc.
1931
FoundedWorld's Finest Chocolate Inc.
1939
EconomyWorld War II begins; wartime production surges.
FoundedSub-Zero Freezer Co., Inc.
1945
EconomyThe war ends; a long global expansion begins.
1947
TechnologyThe transistor is invented.
FoundedJohnston Industries, Inc.
1948
FoundedWD-40 Company
1953
1958
TechnologyThe integrated circuit is demonstrated.
1962
EnvironmentSilent Spring launches the modern environmental movement.
FoundedRuss Berrie and Company, Inc.
1963
FoundedPeet's Coffee & Tea, Inc.
1966
FoundedDesc, S.A. de C.V.
1973
1975
TechnologyThe personal-computer era begins.
FoundedThe Really Useful Group
1977
1981
TechnologyThe IBM PC launches and sets a standard.
FoundedSmurfit-Stone Container Corporation
1983
FoundedNovellus Systems, Inc.
1984
TechnologyApple ships the Macintosh; the GUI era begins.
FoundedHolson Burnes Group, Inc.
1989
HistoryThe Berlin Wall falls; global markets open up.
1991
TechnologyThe World Wide Web is released to the public.
1993
TechnologyThe Mosaic browser brings the web to everyone.
1995
TechnologyWindows 95 launches; the internet goes mainstream.
1997
EnvironmentThe Kyoto Protocol sets the first climate targets.
2004
TechnologySocial media and Web 2.0 take hold.
2007
TechnologyThe iPhone launches the smartphone era.
2010
TechnologyCloud computing goes mainstream for business.
2015
EnvironmentThe Paris Agreement sets global climate targets.
2020
EconomyThe COVID-19 pandemic upends the global economy.
2022
EconomyInflation spikes; central banks raise rates sharply.
2023
TechnologyGenerative AI reaches mainstream business use.
§ 02

The companies

Boatmen's Bancshares Inc. →
Active · founded 1847
Boatmen's Bancshares Inc.
The Associated Press →
Active · founded 1848
The Associated Press (AP) describes itself as the largest newsgathering organization in the world.
Société du Louvre →
Defunct · founded 1855 · France
Société du Louvre does not run that Paris museum, but its properties are almost as distinguished.
Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company →
Active · founded 1867
Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company is a prominent regional and specialty beer brewer.
Heidelberger Zement AG →
Active · founded 1873 · Germany
Heidelberger Zement AG is one of the world's five largest producers of construction materials.
Vorwerk & Co. →
Active · founded 1883 · Germany
For more than 100 years, Vorwerk & Co.
Herman Goelitz, Inc. →
Active · founded 1898
Herman Goelitz, Inc.
Sonoco Products Company →
Active · founded 1899
Sonoco Products Co.
Keyes Fibre Company →
Active · founded 1903
Best known for its Chinet brand disposable dinnerware, the Keyes Fibre Company ranks among the United States's top 50…
The King Arthur Flour Company →
Active · founded 1904
The King Arthur Flour Company celebrates its 210th anniversary in the year 2000.
Blue Diamond Growers →
Active · founded 1910
Blue Diamond Growers is the world's largest tree nut marketer and also ranks as one of the largest agricultural…
Hartmarx Corporation →
Active · founded 1911
Hartmarx Corporation is a holding company for a number of clothing companies, including its flagship brands of men's…
The Lane Co., Inc. →
Active · founded 1912
The Lane Co., Inc.
Schott Brothers, Inc. →
Active · founded 1913
Schott Brothers, Inc.
Lutheran Brotherhood →
Active · founded 1917
Lutheran Brotherhood is the second-largest fraternal benefit society in the United States.
Shionogi & Co., Ltd. →
Active · founded 1919 · Japan
Shionogi & Co., Ltd., ranks among Japan's leading developers, producers, and exporters of pharmaceuticals.
Zatarain's, Inc. →
Active · founded 1922
Zatarain's, Inc., is a leading producer of rice mixes.
Advance Publications Inc. →
Active · founded 1924
Family owned and operated, Advance Publications Inc.
Weis Markets, Inc. →
Active · founded 1924
Weis Markets, Inc.
Rayonier Inc. →
Active · founded 1926
Rayonier Inc.
AMETEK, Inc. →
Active · founded 1930
AMETEK, Inc.
Porsche AG →
Active · founded 1931 · Germany
Porsche AG is legendary for its innovative and beautiful automobile designs.
Value Line, Inc. →
Active · founded 1931
Value Line, Inc.
Besnier SA →
Active · founded 1933 · France
Besnier SA is France's largest dairy products producer and one of the largest dairy products producers in Europe.
Matsushita Electric Works, Ltd. →
Active · founded 1935 · Japan
Matsushita Electric Works (MEW) is the industrial counterpart of the better-known Matsushita Electric Industrial Co.,…
World's Finest Chocolate Inc. →
Active · founded 1939
World's Finest Chocolate Inc.
Showa Shell Sekiyu K.K. →
Active · founded 1942 · Japan
c.
Jos. A. Bank Clothiers, Inc. →
Active · founded 1945
Jos.
Kaman Corp. →
Active · founded 1945
Kaman Corp.
Sub-Zero Freezer Co., Inc. →
Active · founded 1945
Sub-Zero Freezer Co., Inc., is the leading manufacturer of built-in refrigerators, which can be fronted with cabinetry…
Iams Company →
Active · founded 1946
Iams Company is a manufacturer of premium dog and cat foods which are distributed only through veterinarians, animal…
Cumberland Packing Corporation →
Active · founded 1947
Cumberland Packing Corporation is a relatively small, family-run business, yet it has been a major player in the…
Dal-Tile International Inc. →
Active · founded 1947
Dal-Tile International Inc.
Johnston Industries, Inc. →
Active · founded 1948
Although it got its start selling auto replacement parts, Johnston Industries, Inc.
Consorcio G Grupo Dina, S.A. de C.V. →
Active · founded 1951 · Mexico
Consorcio G Grupo Dina , S.A.
Bayer A.G. →
Active · founded 1952 · Germany
Bayer A.G., along with BASF and Hoechst, is heir to the German chemical cartel known as I.G.
WD-40 Company →
Active · founded 1953
Since the 1950s, the San Diego-based WD-40 Company has dominated the U.S.
Dover Corporation →
Active · founded 1955
Dover Corporation is a diversified industrial manufacturing holding company composed of about 50 subsidiaries with…
Renault Argentina S.A. →
Active · founded 1955 · Argentina
Of Argentina's ten automakers, almost all are closely held subsidiaries or affiliates of their American, European, or…
Pay 'N Pak Stores, Inc. →
Active · founded 1961
Before its 1992 dissolution, do-it-yourself retailer Pay 'N Pak Stores, Inc.
Russ Berrie and Company, Inc. →
Active · founded 1963
Russ Berrie & Company, Inc.
Marie Callender's Restaurant & Bakery, Inc. →
Active · founded 1964
Marie Callender's Restaurant & Bakery, Inc.
National Picture & Frame Company →
Active · founded 1964
National Picture & Frame Company is a major designer, manufacturer, and marketer of a wide variety of low-priced…
Ruth's Chris Steak House →
Active · founded 1965
Ruth's Chris Steak House is an international chain of upscale restaurants.
Peet's Coffee & Tea, Inc. →
Active · founded 1966
Founded in Berkeley, California, in the mid-1960s, Peet's Coffee & Tea, Inc.
Ceradyne, Inc. →
Active · founded 1967
Ceradyne, Inc.
Offshore Logistics, Inc. →
Active · founded 1969
Offshore Logistics, Inc., with headquarters in Lafayette, Louisiana, provides a variety of services to the petroleum…
Desc, S.A. de C.V. →
Active · founded 1973 · Mexico
Desc, S.A.
The Yankee Candle Company, Inc. →
Active · founded 1973
The Yankee Candle Company Inc.
The Summit Bancorporation →
Active · founded 1974
The Summit Bancorporation is the holding company for Summit Bank, New Jersey's fourth largest bank.
Corporacion Nacional del Cobre de Chile →
Active · founded 1976 · Chile
: 212234 Copper Ore & Nickel Ore Mining; 331411 Primary Smelting & Refining of Copper Ore The state-owned Corporacion…
The Really Useful Group →
Active · founded 1977 · United Kingdom
The Really Useful Group is the umbrella corporation over a welter of entertainment and leisure companies that operate…
Riklis Family Corp. →
Active · founded 1980
Riklis Family Corp.
Nimbus CD International, Inc. →
Active · founded 1982
In the mid-1990s Nimbus CD International, Inc.
Grameen Bank →
Active · founded 1983 · Bangladesh
Grameen Bank founder Muhammad Yunus pioneered the concept of 'micro-credit'--minuscule loans to the very poor.
Smurfit-Stone Container Corporation →
Active · founded 1983
Smurfit-Stone Container Corporation is the world's largest manufacturer of paperboard and paper-based packaging…
WTD Industries, Inc. →
Active · founded 1983
WTD Industries, Inc.
Altera Corporation →
Active · founded 1984
Founded in 1983, Altera Corporation is a leading maker of high-density programmable logic devices (PLDs), based on…
Novellus Systems, Inc. →
Active · founded 1984
Based in San Jose, California, Novellus Systems, Inc.
Nu Skin Enterprises, Inc. →
Active · founded 1984
Nu Skin Enterprises, Inc.
American Classic Voyages Company →
Active · founded 1985
American Classic Voyages Company is parent company to two pleasure cruise companies, the Delta Queen Steamboat Company,…
Brightpoint, Inc. →
Active · founded 1989
Brightpoint, Inc.
Holson Burnes Group, Inc. →
Active · founded 1989
Holson Burnes Group, Inc., is the largest designer, manufacturer, and distributor of photo albums in the United States,…
Rooms To Go Inc. →
Active · founded 1990
Rooms To Go Inc., a low- to mid-priced furniture store chain, has rapidly expanded to more than 60 stores since opening…
Footstar, Incorporated →
Active · founded 1996
Footstar, Incorporated is a holding company whose two subsidiaries, Footaction and Meldisco, are leading shoe retailers…
Weatherford International, Inc. →
Active · founded 1998
Houston-based Weatherford International, Inc.
Build It Today

Starting a wood products, not elsewhere classified company now

Each week we rebuild one of these stories with today's tools and capital.